Air India Mumbai-Ahmedabad Flight Cancelled As Crew Exceed Duty Time Amid Operational Delays

Last Updated:June 17, 2025, 09:01 IST

Air India's Mumbai-Ahmedabad flight was cancelled after delays led the crew to exceed their duty time limit.

A Representative Image of an Air India plane (PTI)

Amid the rising incidents involving Air India, another of the carrier’s flights was cancelled on Monday after facing delays caused by operational issues, eventually leading to the expiry of the crew’s duty time.

News agency ANI quoted sources and reported that Air India’s flight AI2493 from Mumbai to Ahmedabad was supposed to be operated by an Airbus A321-211 aircraft (VT-PPL).

The flight was first delayed due to an unspecified operational issue, during which, the assigned crew reached the limit of their Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), a rule that restricts the number of hours airline crew members can work for safety reasons.

Early on Tuesday, an Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai suffered a technical glitch in one of its engines.

All passengers on the flight were asked to deplane at the Kolkata airport, where the flight had arrived for a layover.

On Monday, an Air India Express flight from Delhi to Ranchi was diverted back to the national capital shortly after taking off, due to a suspected technical issue.

Before that, an Air India flight returned to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff due to a midair technical issue.

Air India said in a statement that the New Delhi-bound plane landed in Hong Kong safely and was undergoing checks “as a matter of abundant precaution."

Airport Authority Hong Kong said in a separate statement that flight AI315 returned to the southern Chinese city’s airport around 1 pm.

The incidents come days after a London-bound Air India flight AI-171, carrying 242 passengers and crew members, crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12.

All but one on board the plane died along with 29 on the ground when the aircraft smashed into a medical complex.

The ill-fated flight was under the command of Capt Sabharwal along with First Officer Clive Kundar.

While Sabharwal had 8,200 hours of flying experience, Kundar 1,100 hours, the DGCA earlier said in a statement.

On Tuesday, the mortal remains of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal were brought to Mumbai.

Those dead in the Ahmedabad plane crash also included Gujarat’s former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who was cremated with full state honours in the presence of top BJP leaders on Monday.

ALSO READ | Air India Crash: High-Level Committee Meets To Assess ‘Root Cause’, Begins SOP Review Process

Vani Mehrotra

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

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